Introduction
In Jewishness, Whiteness, and Blackness on Glee: Singing to the Tune of Postracism, Rachel E. Dubrofsky articulates how Glee, in contrast to their postracial programing, represents postracism as ironic. This article argues that by “glorifying” Rachel’s Jewishness as white and assimilating Mercedez into white culture contradicts Glee’s philosophy on tolerating and celebrating differences. While Dubrofsky presents significant research supporting the view that although Glee perpetuates its show on diversity, its racial interpretations of characters are subliminal; its relationship to linking minority with whiteness is only evident to the characters of Rachel and Mercedez. There is only enough evidence to suggest that characters of “minority” status are only able to shine in the starlight when they are whitened.
Overview of the Article
Dubrofsky illustrates the issue of diversity in media, supporting her arguments are scenes and characters from Glee. This article discusses that Glee, in contradiction to its postracial message, relies on the presence of racism by reassigning race; Jewishness to whiteness and the whitening of blackness. The author analyzes Rachel, who represents the Jewish aspect of the argument, and Mercedez, who represents blackness. Due to Rachel’s phenotype, lighter skin, which is closer to whiteness, Rachel is able to obtain white privileges. This is evident in the number of musical numbers, the amount of screen time, and depth of her character development. In contrast, Mercedez only receives privileges similar to Rachel’s only when she minimizes her blackness. Dubrofsky acknowledges that the evidence presented is not enough to assume Glee’s position within the discourse of race, but it raises enoug...
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...s in order to succeed. This awareness to overcome challenges only heightens the possibility that in order to do so, you have to realign yourself to be white. This was the case for Rachel and Mercedez, where without the influence of whiteness guiding their growth or maturity, both characters would be able to bask in the spotlight.
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The November 17, 1994 Dallas Observer published an article titled “Tell Momma Why You Cry” describing the incidents surround the removal of the Krasniqi children from their home. In this article Sam Krasniqi, the father, was accused of sexually assaulting his ten year old daughter Lima. Once the children were removed from their childhood home they were placed into the Buckner Baptist Children’s Home in East Dallas (Zimmerman, 1998). Kathy Krasniqi, Tim and Liam’s mother, pleaded multiple times with the case worker to be sensitive with their Muslim identity (Zimmerman, 1998). Her requests were denied because the case worker believed “… these people always stay together” (Zimmerman, 1998). This statement reflected the case workers negative viewpoints regarding the Muslim heritage. The first section will discuss the lack of resources used during the Krasniqi case. The second section will breakdown the cultural differences between Muslim heritage and United States culture. The last section will touch on what I personally
Joey is only five years old, and yet the racial boundaries set by her society are already fixed in her mind. When she looks at a white angel and compares it to her dark skin, she sees a clear and unsettling difference, because society has already taught her that black and white are two entirely different, separate things.
Since its start, the television industry has been criticized for perpetuating myths and stereotypes about African-Americans through characterizations, story lines, and plots. The situation comedy has been the area that has seemed to draw the most criticism, analysis, and disapproval for stereotyping. From Sanford and Son and The Jefferson’s in the 1970s to The Cosby Show (1984) and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the 1990s, sitcoms featuring black casts and characters have always been controversial. However, their significance upon our American culture cannot be disregarded. During the 1950s and 1960s, 97% of the families were Caucasian. In the first five years of the 1990s, nearly 14% of the television families were African-American (Bryant 2001). These statistics obviously show the substantial impact our American culture has had on African-American television families.
In the hopes of communicating to the Canadians, “who call themselves white,” what it means to possess whiteness, I will deconstruct how the child – me – in Figure 1 was trained to embody the, white, Canadian narrative of multiculturalism and citizenship (“On Being” 180). I will argue that the practice of teaching whiteness to other whites stems from a Canadian imaginary in which the white Canadians who “…imagine that history
On November 21, 2010 thousands of ebony- skinned women, young and old, tuned in to VH1 to support Fantasia Barrino. These women are proud to learn that she has not only written a sitcom but actively seeks a producer; the viewers finally see Fantasia finding a constructive use of her time. Fantasia has a devoted fan base willing to forgive even the most prominent blunders presented on her show, such as failing to get her G.E.D., being reckless with her money, and dating a married man. Despite all these mistakes, Fantasia still identifies with an audience that accepts her and believes in her ability to grow and to give hope. This belief, however optimistic, is shattered the minute Fantasia expresses her reasoning for not playing the leading role in her new sitcom; “She’s beautiful…I know I’m hot and all but I’m not light-skinned.” These words spoken by Fantasia Barrino are only one example of a stereotype maintained by the show. Fantasia does not believe that she is attractive enough to play the leading role, simply because she is dark-skinned. Fantasia for Real is a VH1 unscripted show that depicts the everyday life of the season three American Idol winner. The program aims to portray Fantasia regaining control of her career and personal life. Sadly, the show has done just the opposite; Fantasia for Real disgraces Black women and men, single mothers, high school drop outs, and the state of North Carolina. The show substantiates stereotypes of both the ignorant “ baby mama” and the lazy young Black man by Portraying Fantasia as egregiously uneducated, while simultaneously depicting her brother as being shiftless and unmotivated .
Marlon T. Riggs’ video, Color Adjustment, offers the viewer an exciting trip though the history of television, focusing on the representation, or lack thereof, of African-Americans. A perfectly chosen combination of television producers, actors, sociologists, and cultural critics join forces to offer insight and professional opinion about the status of African-Americans in television since the inception of television itself. As Color Adjustment traces the history of television shows from Amos n’ Andy and Julia to "ghetto sitcoms" and The Cosby Show, the cast of television professionals and cultural critics discuss the impacts those representations have on both the African-American community and our society as a whole. Color Adjustment continually asks the question: "Are these images positive?" This video raises the viewer’s awareness about issues of positive images for African-Americans on television.
Rachel Dolezal was head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) division in Spokane, Washington, from 2014 until June 15, 2015, when she stepped down because of claims that she had told lies about her racial identity and additional details of her life. She drew the press’s scrutiny when her caucasian mother and father said publicly that Dolezal was a caucasian female being taken as black. Dolezal’s situation brings to light issues regarding the social construction of race, racial hierarchy, racialization, and the creation of ethnic identity.
This book touches on many different aspects of racial inequality by bringing together the works of many different African American authors, and discusses all of the major themes of “whiteness studies”. The author speaks of how whites attempt to maintain a neutral ground by focusing on extreme acts of white supremacy, which blinds the main steam to the problem of white dominance as a whole. They also discuss how there are differences in the wages between whites and blacks. One of the chapters discusses how there are whites who are committed to the equality of the races, and yet cannot empathize with the races they are trying to help. In another chapter they discuss how Pecola Breedlove undergoes racial deformation through biopower mechanisms occurring throughout the characters life. In another chapter an author discusses how racial excoriation cannot be the focus any longer if we wish to make progress in the realm of race. Instead he suggests we need to focus on the rehabilitation of racial whiteness. He argues that in order to accomplish this we must address the fears and greediness of whites.
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Lippi-Green gives an in-depth look at the negative portrayal of African-Americans in Disney animations. She acknowledged the fact that the cartoon characters that have connotations to be from an African descent, are voiced over by actors that are also of African descent. These actors and the animated characters spoke in "African-American Ver...
Johansen, Bruce E. (1998). Debating Democracy: Native American Legacy of Freedom. Santa Fe, NM: Clear Light Publishers.
The world of television can either completely hit or miss the mark when it comes to providing its audience a diverse cast/actors. "Girls" is a new HBO show about young, prosperous, and white New Yorkers in their twenties struggling to find their footing in the post-collegiate world. It is a poor example of representation of race, but the show in itself cannot be held responsible for the whole problem of racial diversity of media and popular culture. There has been a lot of controversy about the show's diversity since the first episode, seeing how it is set in the melting pot of NYC and Brooklyn, yet it is prominently white. The shocking part is that despite its meting pot nature, it is very easy to live a segregated social life in New York City, especially if you are a rich white person. The fact that the show is so white should not come off as unusual, yet it does because this generation is more willing to see that change happen in pop culture. Not everyone sees it that way and pop culture still does not represent races equally or at times even accurately. For example, when show do add in minorities they often make them extremely stereotypical to their race. The recurrence in the lack of realistic representation in the show highlights the “whiteness” of stereotypical roles that overshadows real life representation.
Logan Gutierrez-Mock’s “F2MESTIZO” takes on the subject matter of intersectionality between race, gender, and class similarly to bell hooks’ theory on drag balls within the film, Paris is Burning. Because the ideas of passing between two races and defining gender identity are interdependent, we see characters enter and exit worlds of powerlessness and privilege, imitate white status to gain privilege, establish a two-fold world of us against them; this reveals much about the internalized racism that arises from the power complexities between races and genders.
To begin with, the role of Critical Race Theory provides us with the idea of “racial realism”, the idea that racism, the normalcy of white supremacy is part of the everyday life of an ‘other’, in other words, racial or indigenous minorities in Canada (Slides on Critical Race Theory). The Critical Race Theory gives an understanding of the power that can be given to a definition such as ‘race’, and how